Chequers | estate, England, United Kingdom | Britannica.com estate, England, United Kingdom Globe Theatre Chequers, formally Chequers Court, country house, administrative and historic county of Buckinghamshire , England , situated 30 miles (50 km) northwest of London, the official country residence of the prime ministers of Great Britain. The estate is about 1,500 acres (600 hectares) in extent. Chequers owes much of its present character to the remodeling, in 1565, of its predecessor. In the 19th century the exterior was plastered and the interior redecorated in neo-Gothic style. In 1917 Viscount Lee of Fareham made provision, with parliamentary approval, for the house to become a weekend retreat and place for prime ministers to entertain guests. Since 1921, when David Lloyd George became the first prime minister occupant, his successors have usually spent time there during their terms of office, and ministerial weekends at Chequers have become a part of British political life. Chequers, Ellesborough, Buckinghamshire, Eng.

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Currently enjoyed by David Cameron, Chequers is a 16th century gothic mansion elegantly restored to its former glory by Reginald Bloomfield in the early 20th century. Once the jail of a banished royal, Chequers rich history dates back to Elizabethan times but its treasures are unfortunately not open to the public. Key Facts about the House Chequers is located near Ellesborough in Buckinghamshire, England. Chequers was built in the 16th century by William Hawtrey. There has been a house on the site of Chequers since the 12th century. Chequers has been the private country retreat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 1921. History of the House Chequers Court is known for its important role in British political life. Located just 41 miles from Downing Street this 16th century country house and estate was given to the nation of Great Britain in 1917 by Sir Arthur Lee and has been the official country seat and private retreat of the Prime Minister since 1921. Chequer’s origins are somewhat ambiguous.

It is known that the house as it stands today was built, or at least extensively remodelled, by William Hawtrey in 1565. Hawtrey’s name appears in the reception room of the house and his initials and the date of 1565 are carved into the brickwork in various places on the house’s exterior. What sort of building stood on the site of Chequers before Hawtrey’s remodelling is largely unknown but the dating of building materials suggests that there has been a house on this site since the 12th century. The name ‘Chequers’ may come from the house’s first resident, Elias Ostiarius, whose name indicates that he was an usher of the Court of the Exchequer. This original house passed through many generations of this family before being passed into the Hawtrey family line. In the same year Hawtrey completed his renovations, Chequers earned its place in the great tomes of English History when it became the prison of a banished royal, the great-granddaughter of Henry VIII, Lady Mary Grey. Queen Elizabeth I herself ordered Lady Mary Grey’s confinement herself when it was learned Lady Grey had married without her family’s consent.

For two years, between 1565 and 1567, Hawtrey guarded Lady Grey in an attempt to ensure she would have no descendents who could, in future, challenge the throne. The room in which Lady Grey was confined has been kept in its original condition. Chequers passed through many families in subsequent years including the Wooleys, Crokes and Thurbanes and the Russells. John Russell, owner of Chequers in 1715, was the grandson of Oliver Cromwell. In 1832, the house was still in the possession of the Russell family and it was Sir George Russell who commissioned architect William Atkinson to modernize the house in gothic style by removing Hawtrey’s original Tudor paneling and windows, plastering the exterior and redecorating the interior in a neo-gothic style. Chequers was briefly owned by the Astley family and leased by the wonderfully named Clutterbucks before being taken on a long lease by a Mr Arthur Lee and his wife, an American heiress, Ruth Lee.

With the advice of Reginald Bloomfield and the work of Bertram Astley, the Lees brought Chequers back to its original Elizabethan style. The external Gothic additions made by the Russells were removed and the Tudor features reinstated and the interiors were remodeled using many imported and reproduction 16th and 17th century antiquities. In the East wing of the house sits the magnificent Hawtrey Room which Bloomfield restored with imported 16th century paneling and reproduction heraldic glass. Above this room is the Great Parlour which features a chimney place brought by Lord Lee from one of his houses in Ipswich and an Elizabethan-style frieze and plasterwork. The Great Hall was also completely remodeled by Bloomfield who added a plaster ceiling copied from the residence of Paul Pindar, an alabaster fireplace and a 17th century screen that forms a passage on the south side. A few years before the outbreak of World War I the Lees purchased Chequers and allowed the house to be used as a hospital during wartime. Following the war the Lees, who were by this time the Lord and Lady of Fareham and childless, left the house to the nation.

On 8 January 1921 the Lees handed over the house to then Prime Minister David Lloyd George. A stained glass window in Chequers has the following inscription “This house of peace and ancient memories was given to England as a thank-offering for her deliverance in the great war of 1914–1918 as a place of rest and recreation for her Prime Ministers for ever.” During the Second World War, Winston Churchill declined to use Chequers as his country retreat due to security concerns and when not in London resided in Ditchley in Oxfordshire until late 1942 when security measures had been put in place. Chequers hosted the leaders of the 24th G8 summit’s spouses in 1998 and in 2014 was visited by Queen Elizabeth II. What Makes Chequers Very Famous? Chequers has played host to important political figures and celebrities from all over the world since it became the official country retreat of the Prime Minister in 1921.

The family who donated Chequers to the nation, the Lord and Lady of Fareham, recognised the huge political change of the twentieth century and pre-empted a situation where the elected Prime Minister of Great Britain may not have the means to fund his own country house. Chequers is symbolic of Lord and Lady Fareham’s vision of a fairer political system, where a lack of wealth or an aristocratic background would not disqualify potential future leaders. Further Research Chequers, Buckinghamshire, England Chequers, Buckinghamshire, England history Chequers or Chequers Court, Buckinghamshire, England Chequers, or Chequers Court, is the country house retreat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. The residence is located near Ellesborough, to the south of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. Coombe Hill, once part of the estate, can be seen just behind. It has been the private retreat of the Prime Minister since 1921.

Origin of the name Chequers The original house probably gained its name in the 12th century because it may have been built or inhabited by an individual named Elias Ostiarius (or de Scaccario), who was acquiring land in the Ellesborough area at the time. The name "Ostiarius" meant an usher of the Court of the Exchequer. Elias Ostiarius' coat of arms included the chequer board of the Exchequer, so it is likely he named his estate after his arms and position at court. The house passed through generations of the De Scaccario family (spelt in many different forms) until it seems to have passed into the D'Awtrey family, whose name was eventually anglicised to Hawtrey. Another explanation sometimes offered is that the house is named after the chequer trees (Sorbus torminalis) that grow in its grounds. There is a reference to this in the book Elizabeth: Apprenticeship by David Starkey, which describes the early life of Elizabeth I.

History There has been a house on the site since the 12th century; however, little is known of the early history of the 16th-century mansion known today as Chequers. What is known is that William Hawtrey restored and enlarged the house in 1565. A reception room in the house bears his name today. It was this same William Hawtrey who, immediately after completing the house, guarded a royal prisoner at Chequers—Lady Mary Grey,[1] younger sister of Lady Jane Grey and great granddaughter of King Henry VII. She had married without her family's consent and was banished from court by Queen Elizabeth I and kept confined to ensure that she had no descendants.[2] Lady Mary remained at Chequers for a period of two years. The "cell" where she slept from 1565 to 1567 is still kept in its original condition. Through descent in the female line and marriages, the house passed through several families: the Wooleys, the Crokes and the Thurbanes. In 1715, the then owner of the house married John Russell, a grandson of Oliver Cromwell.

The house is well known for this connection to the Cromwells, and it still contains a large collection of Cromwell memorabilia. In the 19th century, the Russells (by now the Greenhill-Russell family) employed William Atkinson to make modern alterations to the house in the Gothic style. The Tudor panelling and windows were ripped out and battlements with pinnacles installed. Towards the end of the 19th century, the house passed through marriage to the Astley family. Instead of taking up residence, they let the house to the Clutterbuck family, who loved the house so much that when they left in 1909 they had a near replica built in Hertfordshire at Putteridge Bury. Following the Clutterbucks' departure, the house was taken on a long lease by Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Lee. Lee and his wife Ruth (an American heiress) wanted a country home, and Chequers suited their requirements. They commenced restoration; the Gothic "improvements" were removed and the Tudor style house seen today re-emerged from the scaffolding.

In 1912 following the death of the last of the house's ancestral owners (Henry Delavel Astley), Ruth Lee and her sister purchased the property and later gave it to Arthur Lee. During World War I the house became a hospital and then a convalescent home for officers. Following the end of hostilities and the reinstatement of Chequers as a home (now furnished with many 16th-century antiques and tapestries and the Cromwellian antiquities), the childless Lees formed a plan. While previous Prime Ministers had always belonged to the landed classes, the post-World War I era was bringing in a new breed of politician. These men did not have the country palaces of previous prime ministers to entertain foreign dignitaries, or a tranquil place to relax from the affairs of state. Hence, after lengthy discussions with then Prime Minister David Lloyd George, Chequers was given to the nation as a country retreat for the serving Prime Minister by the Chequers Estate Act 1917. Arthur and Ruth Lee, by this time Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham, left Chequers on 8 January 1921 after a final dinner at the house.

A political disagreement between the Lees and Lloyd George soured the hand-over, which went ahead nevertheless. A stained glass window in the long gallery of the house commissioned by Lord and Lady Lee of Fareham bears the inscription: This house of peace and ancient memories was given to England as a thank-offering for her deliverance in the great war of 1914–1918 as a place of rest and recreation for her Prime Ministers for ever. The property houses one of the largest collections of art and memorabilia pertaining to Oliver Cromwell in the country. It also houses many other national antiques and books held in the famous 'long room', including a diary of Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson. However, the collection is not open to the public. Nearby Coombe Hill was part of the estate until the 1920s when it was given to the National Trust. Coombe Hill and the Chequers Estate are part of the Chilterns Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, designated in 1965. During the early part of World War II, it was considered that security at Chequers was inadequate to protect the Prime Minister, Winston Churchill.

He therefore used Ditchley in Oxfordshire until late 1942, by which time the approach road, clearly visible from the sky, had been camouflaged and other security measures had been put in place.[3][4] Downing Street and Chequers are about 41 miles (66 km) apart. Footnotes Jump up ^ ), Georgina Bertie (Lady; Bertie, Richard (1845). "Five generations of a loyal house. Pt. 1, containing the lives of R. Bertie and his son Peregrine, lord Willoughby". Jump up ^ Hawtrey 1903, pp. 30–1. Jump up ^ Winston Churchill Jump up ^ History Lives at Ditchley and Bletchley – The Churchill Centre References Chequers: The House and its History: The Prime Minister's Country House and its History by Norma Major with photos by Mark Fiennes (1996) Harper Collins, reprinted hardcover ISBN 978-0-00-470875-1 and paperback ISBN 978-0-316-85844-1.

Hawtrey, Florence Molesworth (1903). The History of the Hawtrey Family I. London: George Allen. Retrieved 11 February 2013. External links David Cameron gives the Queen tour of Chequers | Daily Mail Online comments For the first time in almost two decades, the Queen visited Chequers yesterday. But if she was excited to be back, she hid it rather well behind her solemn expression. It was only the third visit the monarch has made to the Prime Minister’s country retreat, and her first since she accompanied Sir John Major in 1996. David Cameron – who is given a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace – arranged the trip so that he could ‘host her for a change’, No10 said. The Queen was shown a wall of photographs of former Prime Ministers at the Buckinghamshire country residence Prince Philip also took an interest in the photographs, before heading outside to plant a tree Mr Cameron said he was 'delighted' to invite them to the Prime Minister’s country retreat after unearthing old photographs of a 1970 visit by US President Richard Nixon.

After a tour of the house, the rare occasion was marked by the Duke of Edinburgh planting an oak tree in the grounds. RELATED ARTICLES Share Prime Ministers regularly use Chequers to host allies, world leaders and celebrities. But the Queen has not been to the grace-and-favour home near Ellesborough in Buckinghamshire for 18 years, and has only ever been invited by Tory Prime Minister. There were no trips under Gordon Brown, Tony Blair or Margaret Thatcher. The Queen last paid a visit when Sir John Major was prime minister in 1996.

After today's lunch Mr Cameron wrote on Twitter: 'Delighted to host Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh for lunch at Chequers today.' Tour: David Cameron showed the Queen around Chequers after lunch, with his wife Samantha looking on It was the first time the Queen has been to the Prime Minister's country retreat since 1996 A LUNCH MENU FIT FOR A QUEEN Starter Bread and butter pudding with icecream Cheese and biscuit A Downing Street spokesman said: ‘The last time the Queen visited Chequers in 1996 she planted an oak tree in the grounds and the Prime Minister thought this would be a nice thing to do on this occasion.’ The menu for today’s lunch included Scottish smoked salmon for starter, a main course of lamb with potato and vegetables and bread and butter pudding and icecream for dessert, followed by cheese and biscuits. According to chef Alan Lavender, who worked at Chequers from 1986 until 2010, Sir John served the Queen warm marinated salmon before presenting her with a jar of home-made Chequers chutney.

Her first visit was in October 1970 when she joined the then-PM Edward Heath and US president Richard Nixon. She was photographed outside the red bricked Tudor mansion with the PM, Nixon and his wife Pat. ‘The PM and the Queen see each other regularly and the Queen hosts the PM at the palace once a week,’ the Downing Street spokesman added. ‘The PM thought this would be a good opportunity to have lunch with him, to host her for a change when he had been at Chequers he found some old photos of previous visits by the Queen including a visit with President Nixon in 1970 and thought it would be nice to host her again.’ The Duke of Edinburgh planted an oak tree in the grounds, after the Queen did the same in 1996 Mr Cameron decided to invite the Royals for lunch after unearthing photographs of an earlier visit with Richard Nixon Before leaving Chequers, the Queen signed a visitors' book, with the Prime Minister and Duke of Edinburgh looking on At the time of the Nixon lunch several hundred people gathered at the main entrance of the estate, with a few holding anti-American placards calling for peace in Vietnam.

The guests dined on fillet of sole with lobster, smoked salmon, roast sirloin of beef and ice cream with mangoes, strawberries and peaches. Chequers and its 1,000 acre estate were bequeathed to the nation in 1917 by Sir Arthur Lee, an MP and director-general of food production. The Prime Minister's grace and favour country retreat regularly hosts world leaders and celebrities, but the Queen has only been twice during her reign Mr Cameron made the invitation after coming across old photographs of the Queen visiting in 1970 with Tory PM Edward Heath (left) and US President Richard Nixon Lloyd George became its first prime ministerial occupant in 1921. The Queen has dined at Downing Street numerous times. In July 2012, she and the Duke of Edinburgh joined Mr Cameron, Mr Brown, Mr Blair and Sir John for a lunch to mark her Diamond Jubilee. Traditionally, the Queen invites the Prime Minister to make an annual visit to Balmoral, her private residence in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, each September.

Google Earth Hacks - Chequers - British Prime Ministers Country Residence Chequers - British Prime Ministers Country Residence Info Popularity Rating: 0 Description: Chequers, or Chequers Court, is a country house near Ellesborough, to the south east of Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, England, at the foot of the Chiltern Hills. It is the country residence of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ( You will need to register or log-in to be able to leave comments about this file ) This file has been rated a 3.50 out of 5. (2 votes) Sorry, but you must be logged in to rate this file so we can tell which files you've already voted on, which will help prevent cheating. CHEQUERS - 1000595| Historic England CHEQUERS List Entry Summary This garden or other land is registered under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953 within the Register of Historic Parks and Gardens by English Heritage for its special historic interest. Name: CHEQUERS The garden or other land may lie within the boundary of more than one authority.

County: Buckinghamshire Parish: Great and Little Kimble National Park: Not applicable to this List entry. Grade: II Date of most recent amendment: Not applicable to this List entry. Legacy System Information The contents of this record have been generated from a legacy data system. Legacy System: Parks and Gardens UID: 1585 Asset Groupings This list entry does not comprise part of an Asset Grouping. Asset Groupings are not part of the official record but are added later for information. List entry Description Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Reasons for Designation Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. History Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details. Details An C18/C19 landscape park and woodland with late C19/early C20 formal gardens and work by Reginald Blomfield (1890s) and H Avray Tipping (1911-12); associations with most C20 Prime Ministers. HISTORIC DEVELOPMENT The Hawtrey family owned the land around Chequers from the C13.

There was no known enclosed park on the site, but there may have been a medieval warren to the north-west. The last male Hawtrey to occupy Chequers, William, built a manor house here c 1565, possibly on the site of an earlier building. William Hawtrey became one of the wealthiest men in the county and his house is a fine example of C16 building. The estate was owned by several families, including the Russells, in the C18, and in the early C19 Sir Robert Greenhill Russell Gothicised the house. From 1892(1909 Reginald Blomfield (1856-1942) worked on the house for the Astley family, his contributions including the south terrace by the house. In 1911-12 H Avray Tipping redesigned the rest of the gardens around the house, creating several walled enclosures. Sir Arthur Lee (later Viscount Fareham) bought the estate in 1910, and, having restored the house to its pre-Gothicised appearance, gave it to the nation in 1917 as a country residence for the Prime Minister.

The Lees vacated the estate in 1921, when the Prime Minister of the day, David Lloyd George, took up residence. The estate remains in this use, and nearly all subsequent Prime Ministers have used it as such. DESCRIPTION LOCATION, AREA, BOUNDARIES, LANDFORM, SETTING Chequers is located in the Chiltern Hills, 8km south of Aylesbury. The c 200ha site lies in a shallow valley, close to the northern scarp of the Chilterns which descends sharply to the Vale of Aylesbury. The site is sheltered by the surrounding hills and wooded hilltops. It is bounded on the east and south-east by the lane from Great Missenden to Ellesborough, and by hilly agricultural land and woodland on the other sides. Chequers is set in agricultural and wooded countryside which rises around it on three sides, with a gently sloping valley running south. Very few C20 developments are visible in its setting. ENTRANCES AND APPROACHES The main drive approaches the house from the south.

The entrance from the Great Missenden lane is marked by two two-storey red-brick lodges and gates and gate piers, c 750m south of the house. This drive was constructed in 1921, on what was probably the line of the Elizabethan approach from the south. It runs straight towards the south front of the house for 500m, dividing to west and east 250m south of the house. The southern part of the drive is enclosed by an avenue of semi-mature beech trees donated by Winston Churchill in the 1950s. Each arm of the drive curves around a large lawn bounded on the north by the formal garden. The west arm runs north to the service wing west of the house. The east arm also continues north, turning west by the house to arrive at the entrance to the east courtyard, providing a view of The Monument on Coombe Hill to the north-east. The large lawn south of the formal garden is crossed by another drive running from west to east. This drive enters the park south of Home Lodge on the east boundary, then runs west across the park into the area of wood and warren.

Another track runs north from the house across the park towards Ellesborough church. The OS 1st edition map published 1885 shows two drives east of the house and no south drive. The main drive entered at Home Lodge, a brick, C19, single-storey, Elizabethan-style lodge (E B Lamb 1838, listed grade II), now isolated from any drive. This drive curved north before turning south to arrive at the east front of the house. The 1885 OS map does not show the walled east entrance court. PRINCIPAL BUILDING Chequers (listed grade I) lies in a south-facing valley. The house consists largely of the c 1565 red-brick mansion built by William Hawtrey, particularly his north and south wings. An east wing with early fabric, and an early C18 west wing complete this courtyard house, with a service court (E B Lamb 1836-8) attached to the west. The central open courtyard thus formed was roofed over in the mid C19 to become the Great Hall.

In the early C19 the house was Gothicised and stuccoed on the exterior, it being returned to its Elizabethan style by Bertram Astley in 1892, with additional advice from Reginald Blomfield. Various alterations were made at this time. Lord Lee of Fareham bought the estate in 1909 and gave it to the nation in 1917. Subsequently no major alterations have been carried out. GARDENS AND PLEASURE GROUNDS The gardens lie close to the house. In the north garden Avray Tipping's broad, flagged path extends along the north side of the house. The level north lawn is bounded at the eastern end by his brick wall, with a square, brick garden house in the south-east corner. A ha-ha, possibly earlier, defines the north boundary of the lawn with the park. A lime avenue runs north from the edge of the north lawn. Crows Close, shown and named on the 1629 Chequers estate map, is a grove of mixed mature trees with many limes.

Near this is the earliest area of memorial trees, mostly cedars, planted by the Lees and Theodore Roosevelt in the early C20. East of the house Avray Tipping created the rectangular entrance courtyard against the house, surrounded by three brick walls, to form an imposing approach to the house. The north wall of this courtyard divides the courtyard from the north garden. The courtyard has a broad gravel turning circle with a quatrefoil lawn in the middle. It is entered through iron gates and brick piers with pointed stone finials on top, inspired by those at Canons Ashby, Northamptonshire (qv). Two doors in the walls on either side of the forecourt give access to the north and south gardens. The south garden is the focal formal feature. Here Avray Tipping created a formal, rectangular, brick-walled rose garden south of Blomfield's terrace which runs across the south front of the house. Steps lead from the centre of Blomfield's terrace down to the parterre. A narrow stone path runs around the other sides of the parterre which is sunk just enough to gain shelter and privacy from the buttressed south wall.

This wall has a paved terrace running along the top of it connecting a brick garden house at each end. Stone-flagged paths separate the box-hedged rose beds on the parterre. Immediately west of the house is the service area and service entrance to the house. This is screened by an area of shrubs and trees bounded by a shallow ditch and edged in places with large box plants. This feature shelters the house from the west and appears to be the remains of the shrubbery with many paths shown on the 1st edition large-scale OS map surveyed 1881-2. There is an informal water feature with rockwork here. The 1629 estate map shows two parallel, independent ranges, through which the house was approached from a forecourt with separate gatehouse south of the southern range. The foundations of this gatehouse were uncovered during the construction of the parterre in 1911 and the outline marked on York-stone paving. Additionally, on the estate map regular rectangular enclosures are shown adjacent to the west of the house, and a rectangular belt of trees in Crows Close to the north. A maze is indicated 350m north-west of house.

Most of the rest of the landscape shown is divided into fields and woodland. Lipscombe (1847) refers to a 'small but very elegant parterre' which existed on the south front of the house. PARK The park is divided into several sections. The North Park and South Park lie north and south of the house respectively, separated by the kitchen garden area and the house. These park areas are visually bounded to the east by the area of extensive woodland beyond the site, running up the eastern hillside. The South Park is divided into two: the southern half is arable, with some single park trees and an occasional clump; the northern half is pasture, also with single trees. The North Park is pasture, bounded at the north end by a belt of trees. South-west of the house the park is open arable, bounded on the west by Mable and Whorley Woods. These woods frame the view to the south-west and west. A park is shown on the 1885 OS map north, east and west of the house. The large tract of land west of the house is rough pasture with the remains of field boundaries marked by trees.

North-west of the house is a valley called The Dene running uphill away from the house. This is arable with several large clumps in it. North of this, Beacon Hill, a high, grassy ridge, dominates the western parkland. Its single clump stands out as a landmark for miles around from the Vale of Aylesbury to the north. There are panoramic views of the Vale of Aylesbury from the north edge of the site, particularly the spine of Beacon Hill. In the north-west of the site a detached area of parkland is bounded by Little Kimble Hill and the lane to Ellesborough, and the Warrens to the south-east. It is pasture with a series of mostly dry, small ponds running north through it, which are connected with Silver Springs pond to the south-east. The parkland slopes down to the north-west. A C19 brick lodge stands at its north-west point. Extensive ancient ditches and earthworks are present. The western end of the site consists of woodland and scrub on the Chiltern escarpment. Many paths and a drive run through this area which was a medieval warren.

In the late C19 various ornamental features existed in this area, such as the Velvet Lawn south of Cymbeline's Castle (scheduled ancient monument), Happy Valley, and Silver Springs (now two dry ponds), in the north of this area. In 1909 the Silver Springs ponds were stocked with trout. These features are now largely overgrown. A dominant natural and very rare feature is the quantity of native box plants growing beneath the trees (SSSI). Panoramic views of the Vale of Aylesbury open up at various points in this area. KITCHEN GARDEN The kitchen garden lies east of the house, separated by a lawn and specimen memorial trees planted by past Prime Ministers and visiting foreign heads of state. The kitchen garden is surrounded on three sides by brick walls. On the west side a C20 agricultural dwelling has been built. The garden is still used for produce for the house, and two small glasshouses lie against the north wall. On the other, north side of the north wall is a range of potting sheds and related outbuildings. East of the walled garden is an orchard area.

The half-timbered and brick gateway is aligned with the straight path running from west to east through the kitchen garden and orchard. West of the walled garden is an ornamental brick and flint kennel and associated buildings. REFERENCES G Lipscombe, History and Antiquities of the County of Buckinghamshire (1847) Country Life, 28 (30 December 1910), pp 970-81; 42 (6 October 1917), pp 324-33; (13 October 1917), pp 348-55; (20 October 1917), pp 372-9 J Gilbert Jenkins, Chequers, A history of the Prime Minister's Buckinghamshire home (1967) P S Fry, Chequers, The country home of Britain's Prime Ministers (1977) N Pevsner and E Williamson, The Buildings of England: Buckinghamshire (1994), pp 234-6 N Major, Chequers, the Prime Minister's country house and its history (1996) Maps A topographical description ...

of the Manors of Ellesborough, Chequers ..., 1629, (Buckinghamshire Record Office) OS 6" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1885 2nd edition published 1900 3rd edition published 1922 OS 25" to 1 mile: 1st edition published 1881-2 2nd edition published 1898 Description written: November 1997 Amended: June 1998; April 1999 Register Inspector: SR Edited: June 1999 Selected Sources Legacy Record - This information may be included in the List Entry Details National Grid Reference: SP 83625 05918 Map © Crown Copyright and database right 2017. All rights reserved. Ordnance Survey Licence number 100024900. © British Crown and SeaZone Solutions Limited 2017. All rights reserved. Licence number 102006.006. Use of this data is subject to Terms and Conditions .

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Question: Chequers, the Prime Minister's country residence, is in which English county?
Answer: Buckinghamshire